The Jamaica Polo Association’s annual series of tournaments concluded with the Senior Cup Final held at the St. Ann Polo Club at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 8th, 2006 between defending champions Kingston Polo Club and St. Ann Polo Club. The Senior Cup was first presented in 1907, after the formation of the All Jamaica Polo Association and the loss of the Dewar Cup in the great earthquake. It is played for on an open basis (i.e. no handicap) by the best team that each Club has to offer.
St. Ann put forward the same 13 goal team that played for the Hurlingham Cup the week before with Lesley-Ann Fong-Yee at # 1, Kurt Chin at # 2, Paul Chin at # 3 and Andy Vernon at Back, but Kingston altered their Hurlingham line up and also fielded a 13 goal team with Alexander Melville at # 1, James Robertson at # 2, Mark Wates at # 3 and Paul Lalor at Back. The field had been perfectly prepared and the game certainly lived up to its expectations of being fast and competitive.
Kingston came out on their top horses and all guns blazing in the 1st chukka as Lalor, Robertson and Melville all scored to give them an emphatic 3 goal lead. However, St. Ann came right back in the 2nd with goals from Kurt Chin and Vernon to cut the deficit and Fong-Yee scored 3 goals in the 3rd chukka for St. Ann to take a 2 goal lead at half time. The flow of the game was severely interrupted in the 4th chukka with several time-outs for broken tack and a bruising fall by Kurt Chin. Robertson scored and Melville converted at 30 yard penalty for Kingston to tie the score. Kurt Chin had to retire at the end of that chukka with an injured thigh muscle and was replaced by young Craig Russell playing in his first Senior Cup. Paul Chin opened the scoring in the 5th chukka as St. Ann gave notice that they were not going to roll over with the loss of one of their top players. Wates and Lalor then countered for Kingston, but St. Ann tied the score again when Vernon converted a 3 yard penalty awarded after a good run up the field by Paul Chin. The last chukka was fast and furious as Lalor opened the scoring putting Kingston in the lead but Vernon soon countered to tie it up again. However, it was Lalor that put the match away for Kingston in the latter part of the chukka for them to win the prestigious Senior Cup by 9 goals to 8.
After the match the Prize Giving ceremony for the Jamaica Polo Association’s annual series of tournaments was presided over by the President of the JPA, The Hon. Dennis Lalor. He thanked the Club for hosting the tournament and in particular Doc Masterton for producing the field and Lesley-Ann Fong-Yee for her work in the Club. The Annual JPA awards were then handed out as follows: The Tara Couriers Sportsmanship Award – Lesley- Ann Fong-Yee, The Eddie Junor Trophy for the Best Back – Andy Vernon, The Gleaner Independence Cup for the person that contributed the most to the sport – The Hon. Dennis Lalor, The Ricky Chin Memorial for the Most Improved Player of the JPA series – Jason Wates, Bob Skeene Trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the JPA series – Mark Wates and the Best Playing Pony of the series was “Mega Don” owned by Steven Laing and played by Mark Wates.
Finally the Hurlingham Cup was awarded to the Kingston Polo Club team of Jason Wates, James Robertson, Mark Wates and Paul Lalor, with the MVP prize going to Mark Wates and the Senior Cup was awarded to the Kingston Polo Club team of Alexander Melville, James Robertson, Mark Wates and Paul Lalor, with the MVP prize going to St. Ann’s Lesley-Ann Fong-Yee. A Bar-B-Que and the usual celebrations and revelry followed the ceremony.
Photo – Kingston Polo Club team winners of the Senior Cup. From left to right: Paul Lalor # 4, Mark Wates # 3, James Robertson # 2, Alexander Melville # 1.
Our next tournament is the John Young coaching league for our junior and “new” players. We have 6 teams entered – 4 in Kingston and 2 in St. Ann. The Kingston matches will start on Tuesday, July 18th and matches will be held in both Kingston and St. Ann on Thursday, July 20th. The Final will be held at the St. Ann Polo Club on Saturday, July 22nd, 2006 between the winning Kingston team and the winning St. Ann team.
That will be followed by the annual Hi-Pro and Pan Caribbean Family Tournament to be held over the last week of July and the first week of August with it’s big final on Saturday, August 5th, 2006 at the St. Ann Polo Club, Drax Hall which will also mark the end of the formal polo season.